Image curation

ABSTRACT

Image curation techniques are described. In one or more implementations, one or more modules are launched for execution on a computing device. Responsive to the launch, criteria are generated automatically and without user intervention through execution of the one or more modules by a computing device. Images are curated using the generated criteria automatically and without user intervention through execution of the one or more modules, the curated images identified from a plurality of different image sources that are associated with a user. The curated images are caused to be displayed by a display device of the computing device automatically and without user intervention through execution of the one or more modules.

BACKGROUND

The amount of images with which a user captures and interacts with ineveryday life is ever increasing. For example, with the addition ofcamera functionality to a mobile phone, a user may readily capture amultitude of images, e.g., still images and videos. Additionally, theuser may receive images from a variety of other users that were capturedon their mobile phones.

These images may be shared using a variety of different services,including email, photo sharing sites, social networks, and so on.Consequently, even a typical user may have a large quantity of imagesspread out amongst a variety of different sources, which may make itdifficult for a user to locate particular images of interest.

SUMMARY

Image curation techniques are described. In one or more implementations,one or more modules are launched for execution on a computing device.Responsive to the launch, criteria are generated automatically andwithout user intervention through execution of the one or more modulesby a computing device. Images are curated using the generated criteriaautomatically and without user intervention through execution of the oneor more modules. The curated images are identified from a plurality ofdifferent image sources that are associated with a user. The curatedimages are caused to be displayed by a display device of the computingdevice automatically and without user intervention through execution ofthe one or more modules.

In one or more implementations, one or more computer-readable storagemedia comprise instructions stored thereon that, responsive to executionby a computing device, causes the computing device to perform operationsautomatically and without user intervention. The operations includegenerating criteria, identifying images that are associated with a userfrom a plurality of different image sources using the generatedcriteria, selecting a subset of the identified images for display,matching one or more of the selected subset of images to positions in animage layout, and replacing display of at least one of the selectedsubset of images in the image layout with another one of the selectedsubset of images.

In one or more implementations, a system comprises one or more modulesimplemented at least partially in hardware, the one or more modulesconfigured to perform operations. The operations include curating imagesusing criteria that are generated automatically and without userintervention, the curated images identified from a plurality ofdifferent image sources that are associated with a user. The operationsalso include causing the curated images to be displayed by a displaydevice automatically and without user intervention, the curated imagesdisplayed according to a layout such that at least one image from afirst image source is displayed concurrently with a second image from asecond image source.

This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in asimplified form that are further described below in the DetailedDescription. This Summary is not intended to identify key features oressential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended tobe used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subjectmatter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The detailed description is described with reference to the accompanyingfigures. In the figures, the left-most digit(s) of a reference numberidentifies the figure in which the reference number first appears. Theuse of the same reference numbers in different instances in thedescription and the figures may indicate similar or identical items.Entities represented in the figures may be indicative of one or moreentities and thus reference may be made interchangeably to single orplural forms of the entities in the discussion.

FIG. 1 is an illustration of an environment in an example implementationthat is operable to employ image curation techniques described herein.

FIG. 2 depicts a system in an example implementation in which an imagemodule of FIG. 1, which is shown in greater detail, is configured toaccess images from a variety of different image sources.

FIG. 3 depicts an example implementation in which an image module ofFIG. 2 employs an image layout module to populate a layout.

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram depicting a procedure in an exampleimplementation in which images are displayed automatically and withoutuser intervention based on criteria that are automatically generated,the display performed responsive to launching of an application.

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram depicting a procedure in an exampleimplementation in which a subset of identified images are matched to animage layout and replaced sequentially in time as part of a display ofthe layout.

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram depicting a procedure in an exampleimplementation in which images are curated using criteria that isautomatically generated without user intervention.

FIG. 7 illustrates an example system including various components of anexample device that can be implemented as any type of computing deviceas described with reference to FIGS. 1-6 to implement embodiments of thetechniques described herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Overview

Users may have images, both still and video, stored in a variety ofdifferent locations. This may include different devices of the user(e.g., a mobile phone, tablet, desktop computer), different services(e.g., social networks, photo sharing services), and so on.Consequently, it may be difficult for a user to access these images inan efficient manner.

Image curation techniques are described. In one or more implementations,modules may be utilized to automatically curate (e.g., identify andorganize) images from a variety of different image sources. The modules,for instance, may be configured to generate criteria that may be used toidentify “interesting” images from a collection automatically andwithout user intervention. Techniques may also be employed to select asubset of the images for display from this pool of potentiallyinteresting images. The modules may also be employed to supportautomatic placement of the images of output, such as in a “multi-up”layout for viewing by the user and may include replacement of images andsubsequent generation of additional criteria. In this way, a user may begiven access to images from a wide range of sources in an efficientmanner. Further discussion of these and other techniques may be found inrelation to the following sections.

In the following discussion, an example environment is first describedthat may employ the techniques described herein. Example procedures arethen described which may be performed in the example environment as wellas other environments. Consequently, performance of the exampleprocedures is not limited to the example environment and the exampleenvironment is not limited to performance of the example procedures.

Example Environment

FIG. 1 is an illustration of an environment 100 in an exampleimplementation that is operable to employ techniques described herein.The illustrated environment 100 includes a computing device 102 having aprocessing system 104 and a computer-readable storage medium that isillustrated as a memory 106 although other configurations are alsocontemplated as further described below in relation to FIG. 7.

The computing device 102 may be configured in a variety of ways. Forexample, a computing device may be configured as a computer that iscapable of communicating over a network, such as a desktop computer, amobile station, an entertainment appliance, a set-top boxcommunicatively coupled to a display device, a wireless phone, a gameconsole, and so forth. Thus, the computing device 102 may range fromfull resource devices with substantial memory and processor resources(e.g., personal computers, game consoles) to a low-resource device withlimited memory and/or processing resources (e.g., traditional set-topboxes, hand-held game consoles). Additionally, although a singlecomputing device 102 is shown, the computing device 102 may berepresentative of a plurality of different devices, such as multipleservers utilized by a business to perform operations such as by a webservice, a remote control and set-top box combination, an image capturedevice and a game console configured to capture gestures, and so on.

The computing device 102 is further illustrated as including anoperating system 108. The operating system 108 is configured to abstractunderlying functionality of the computing device 102 to applications 110that are executable on the computing device 102. For example, theoperating system 108 may abstract the processing system 104, memory 106,network 112, and/or display device functionality of the computing device102 such that the applications 110 may be written without knowing “how”this underlying functionality is implemented. The application 110, forinstance, may provide data to the operating system 108 to be renderedand displayed by the illustrated display device without understandinghow this rendering will be performed. The operating system 108 may alsorepresent a variety of other functionality, such as to manage a filesystem and user interface that is navigable by a user of the computingdevice 102, manage a user login to provide access to resources that arespecific to the user, and so forth.

The application 110 is illustrated as including an image module 114 thatis representative of functionality relating to management of images.Although illustrated as part of the application 110, functionality ofthe image module 114 may be implemented in a variety of ways, such aspart of the operating system 108, as a stand-alone application,distributed across an environment, employed as part of a networkservice, and so on, further examples of which are illustrated inrelation to FIG. 7.

One example of functionality relating to management of images by theimage module 114 involves image curation. This may include generation ofcriteria that may be utilized to locate potentially “interesting”images, which may be performed automatically and without userintervention by the image module 114. Examples of criteria may includetime-based criteria (e.g., August), people-based criteria (e.g., theuser, the user's children, friends of the user), location-based criteria(e.g., a location spot), pixel-based criteria (e.g., pixels of aparticular color), and others.

The image module 114 may also be configured to access images from avariety of different sources. This may include storage that is local tothe computing device 102, e.g., the memory 106. This may also includeimage sources that are accessible via the network 112. An example ofthis is one of a plurality of different service providers 116 that areconfigured to support network services involving images 118. This mayinclude social networks, image sharing service, image storage services,and so on. Thus, the image module 114 may be configured to supportinteraction with images a variety of different sources and may do soautomatically and without user intervention, an example of which isdescribed in relation to the following figure.

FIG. 2 depicts a system 200 in an example implementation in which theimage module 114, which is shown in greater detail, is configured toaccess images from a variety of different image sources. As previouslydescribed, the image module 114 may access images from a variety ofdifferent image sources 202. One such illustrated example includes localstorage of a computing device 204, such as the computing device 102 thatexecuted the image module 114. Local storage of the computing device204, for instance, may include one or more folders in which images aremaintained.

In another example, the image source 202 may include other computingdevices associated with the user 206. The user, for instance, may use amobile phone, tablet computer, game console, and desktop computer asshown in FIG. 7 to store images. Accordingly, the image module 114 maybe configured to access images from these other devices, such as througha login procedure using credentials accessible to the image module 114.

In a further example, an image source 202 includes remote storage thatis associated with the user 208. This may include storage that is madeavailable to a user to act as storage that is accessible over thenetwork 112, an example of which is “SkyDrive” (SkyDrive is a trademarkof the Microsoft Corp., Redmond, Wash.). In yet a further example, animage source 202 may include a photo sharing service 210 that isaccessible remotely over the network 112. The photo sharing service 210may be configured to support uploads of images which may then be madeaccessible to the user (e.g., as a backup) as well as shared with otherusers. The other users, for instance, may be granted permission toaccess the images through receipt of an email containing a link, throughspecification of an email address, and so forth.

Image sources 202 may also include a user's social network accounts 212.Images, for instance, may be uploaded by the user for sharing with otherusers (e.g., “friends” of the user) and/or shared with the user fromother users via the social network service. Thus, the “friend” or otherrelationship that is specified may be used to permission access to theimages by the user with other users and vice versa. In an additionalexample, images with tags identifying the user 214 may be used as animage source 202, such as images that may be located based on the tagsthat are stored as part of metadata of the image or otherwise. Thus, theimage module 114 may be used to access images from a wide variety ofdifferent sources, other examples of which are also contemplated.

Regardless of the image source 202, the image module 114 may utilize avariety of different techniques to identify images that may be ofpotential interest to a user. The image module 114, for instance, mayemploy a criteria generation module 216 that is representative offunctionality to generate criteria that may be utilized to identify acollection of images that may be potentially interesting. Thisgeneration may be performed automatically and without user intervention,such as responsive to a launch of the application 110, selection of animage viewing mode supported by the operating system 108, and so on.

A variety of different criteria may be generated by the criteriageneration module 216. This may include time-based criteria, which mayinclude images from a particular timeframe across a plurality of years,e.g., week, holiday, month, season, year, and so on. In another example,this may include “recent” images that were taken, edited and/or madeaccessible in a predefined amount of time, received a recent coment, andso on. Thus, the time-based criteria may be compared to metadataassociated with the image to identify the image as further describedbelow.

In another example, the criteria may be based on people included in theimages. The images, for instance, may include metadata (e.g., tags) thatdescribes people included in the images. Other techniques are alsocontemplated, such as through image analysis to identify similar usersin a plurality of images. In a further example, the criteria may belocation based. For instance, the images may be geo-tagged such thatcoordinates are included in metadata associated with the image thatdescribes where the image was captured. Thus, in these examples metadatamay be leveraged to define criteria to be used to identify images ofinterest.

Other examples are also contemplated in which other criteria not definedin the metadata are used. For example, pixels of the image itself may beutilized to define criteria, such as based on color, identification ofparticular users, locations, landmarks, and so on. Additionally, qualityof the image may also be used as a criterion, such as whether the imageis blurry, a video is stable, and other visual aesthetics.

The criteria generation module 216 may also employ rules 218 in thegeneration of the criteria that are to be used to identify potentiallyinteresting images. The rules 218, for example, may specify areplacement of criteria such that a same criterion is not used forsuccessive outputs, may employ heuristics that alter the criteria basedon monitored user interaction, and so forth. The rules 218, forinstance, may cause generation of criteria to be based at least in parton criteria that was utilized in a previous output such that theprevious criteria are not repeated. Thus, the criteria generation module216 may employ a variety of different techniques to generate criteriaautomatically and without user intervention.

The criteria may then be used by an image identification module 220 ofthe image module 114 to identify images that comply with the generatedcriteria. This identification may be performed automatically and withoutuser intervention by the module in a variety of ways. For example, theimage identification module 220 may be configured to examine metadata ofimage sources 202 located remotely via a network 112 without downloadingthe actual images, thereby saving network bandwidth and improvingefficiency. Other examples are also contemplated in which downloading isperformed. In this way, the image identification module 220 may identifyimages that correspond to the criteria generated by the criteriageneration module 216.

Once an interesting collection has been identified by the imageidentification module 220, such as January Moments, analysis is done onthe collection by the subset selection module 222 automatically andwithout user intervention in order to identify the subset of images thatare to be displayed. For example, the subset selection module 222 mayemploy algorithms with specific probability curves to the collection toensure that an even distribution across the collection is obtained. Toavoid clustering (e.g., displaying three photos that are variations ofthe same group shot), images with “date taken” fields may be leveragedsuch that images that are “far enough apart” may be chosen. Images witha desired mix of landscape versus portrait orientations as dictated bythe multi-up layout may also be selected by the subset selection module222. In a further example, the subset selection module 222 may ensurethat different image sources are leveraged, e.g., so that each of theimages is not obtained from a single source.

At this point, the image module 114 has identified a curated subset ofimages that are to be displayed. The image module 114 may then employ animage layout module 224 to populate the images in a layout for display.The layout may take a variety of different forms, such as a slideshow,support concurrent view of a plurality of the images, and so on. Thislayout may be saved, shared with other users, printed, and so on.Further, the layout may involve resizing, cropping, and othermodifications of the images for inclusion in the layout, may leverage animage replacement module 226 to rotate through a display of the imagesin the subset, and so on as further described in relation to thefollowing figure.

FIG. 3 depicts an example implementation 300 in which the image module114 of FIG. 2 employs an image layout module 224 to populate a multi-uplayout. The example implementation 300 is shown using first and secondstages 302, 304. At the first stage 302, an unpopulated layout 306 isshown as being configured to include a plurality of images taken fromthe subset for display by a display device of the computing device 102of FIG. 1. As illustrated, the layout 306 may include different sizesand orientations for images that are to be included in the layout.

At the second stage 304, the image layout module 224 has populated thelayout 306. This may include application of rules to determine aposition in the layout for a given image. These rules may includematching landscape images to landscape layout positions and matchingportrait images to portrait layout positions, arrangement of images sothat similar images are spaced apart in the layout, and so on.

In the illustrated example, the images are shown such that preconfiguredborders are not visible to a user when viewing the layout. For instance,pixels of the images may be displayed proximal to each other such thatpixels from another source are not displayed between the pixels ofadjacent images. Naturally, other implementations are also contemplated,including implementations in which borders are shown as illustrated inthe first step 302. Also, in the illustrated example the layout is shownas being displayed in an immersive or modern shell that does not involvedisplay of “chrome” such as windows, menus, sliders, and so on althoughother examples are also contemplated.

Once an initial placement of images has filled the layout, new imagesfrom the curated subset may be used to replace existing images (e.g.,one at a time, a subset, all at the same time, and so on) using the sameor different layout-matching rules described above by the imagereplacement module 226. In the illustrated example, the layout 306 alsoincludes a description of at least one criterion that was used toidentify the image, e.g., “August” in the illustrated example.

Once display of the curated subset has completed, an additional curatedsubset may be selected and displayed along with a new description, ifapplicable. In this way, new curated images may be used to replace theold curated images, e.g., one at a time, in subsets, and so on. Thus, asthe user continues to watch the layout, the user is presented withsequential curated sets of their memories as recorded by the images.

As previously described, the image module 112 may employ rules inselection of a next curated set of images to ensure that identical setsare not shown consecutively. Rules may also be employed to re-analyzecollections and choose different subsets of photos once a given set hasbeen viewed. For example, after “January Moments” is viewed, the fullpopulation of images from January may be re-analyzed and a new subsetchosen such that the next time “January Moments” appears, differentimages are chosen. A variety of other examples are also contemplated,further discussion of which may be found in relation to the followingsection.

Example Procedures

The following discussion describes image curation techniques that may beimplemented utilizing the previously described systems and devices.Aspects of each of the procedures may be implemented in hardware,firmware, or software, or a combination thereof. The procedures areshown as a set of blocks that specify operations performed by one ormore devices and are not necessarily limited to the orders shown forperforming the operations by the respective blocks. In portions of thefollowing discussion, reference will be made to FIGS. 1-3.

FIG. 4 depicts a procedure 400 in an example implementation in whichimages are displayed automatically and without user intervention basedon criteria that is automatically generated. One or more modules arelaunched for execution on a computing device (block 402). The imagemodule 114, for instance, may be included as part of an application 110,the operating system 108, and so on.

Responsive to the launch, criteria are generated automatically andwithout user intervention through execution of the one or more modulesby a computing device (block 404). The criteria, for instance, may beselected using rules 218 to determine which criteria are to be used toidentify potentially interesting images, including still and/or videoimages.

Images are curated using the generated criteria automatically andwithout user intervention through execution of the one or more modules.The curated images are identified from a plurality of different imagesources that are associated with a user (block 406). The image module114, for instance, may access a variety of different image sources 202to curate the images. This may include identifying, obtaining, andorganizing the images according to a layout as described in relation toFIG. 3.

The curated images are caused to be displayed by a display device of thecomputing device automatically and without user intervention throughexecution of the one or more modules (block 408). Continuing with theprevious example, the curated images may be displaying upon launching ofthe application such that the images are displayed without user inputbeyond that of the launching of the application. In this way, a user isprovided with an automated display of a collection of potentiallyinteresting images. A variety of other examples are also contemplated.

FIG. 5 depicts a procedure 500 in an example implementation in which asubset of identified images are matched to an image layout and replacedsequentially in time as part of a display of the layout. Criteria aregenerated (block 502) automatically and without user intervention, suchas through execution of a criteria generation module 216 as previouslydescribed in relation to FIG. 2.

Images are identified that are associated with a user from a pluralityof different image sources using the generated criteria (block 504).Continuing with the previous example, the image identification module220 may identify which images from the image sources 202 comply with thecriteria generated by the criteria generation module 216.

A subset of the identified images is selected for display (block 506).This subset may be selected by the subset selection module 222 based ona variety of considerations as previously described. One or more of theselected subset of images are matched to positions in an image layout(block 508). Display of at least one of the selected subset of images inthe image layout is replaced with another one of the selected subset ofimages (block 510). As shown in FIG. 3, for example, the image layoutmodule 224 may assign images to particular locations of the imagelayout. These images may then be replaced sequentially in time atdifferent locations of the layout to provide an active viewingexperience. A variety of other examples are also contemplated.

FIG. 6 depicts a procedure in an example implementation in which imagesare curated using criteria that is automatically generated without userintervention. Images are curated using criteria that are generatedautomatically and without user intervention, the curated imagesidentified from a plurality of different image sources that areassociated with a user (block 602). The images may be curated, forinstance, through execution of the image module 114 to identify andorganize images for display in a user interface. As described in FIG. 2,these images may be obtained from a variety of different image sources202.

The curated images are caused to be displayed by a display deviceautomatically and without user intervention, the curated imagesdisplayed according to a layout such that at least one image from afirst image source is displayed concurrently with a second image from asecond image source (block 604). For example, an image may be obtainedfrom local storage of the computing device 204, other computing devicesassociated with the user 206 (e.g., remote devices such as a user'sphone), remote storage associated with the user 208, a photo sharingservice 210, a user's social network accounts 212, images with tagsidentifying the user 214, and so forth. Another image may also beobtained, this one from a source that is different from the initialimage. These images may then be displayed concurrently, such as in a“multi-up” layout as shown in FIG. 3 although a variety of other layoutexamples are also contemplated.

Example System and Device

FIG. 7 illustrates an example system generally at 700 that includes anexample computing device 702 that is representative of one or morecomputing systems and/or devices that may implement the varioustechniques described herein. This is illustrated through incorporationof the image module 114 as part of the example computing device 702. Thecomputing device 702 may be, for example, a server of a serviceprovider, a device associated with a client (e.g., a client device), anon-chip system, and/or any other suitable computing device or computingsystem.

The example computing device 702 as illustrated includes a processingsystem 704, one or more computer-readable media 706, and one or more I/Ointerface 708 that are communicatively coupled, one to another. Althoughnot shown, the computing device 702 may further include a system bus orother data and command transfer system that couples the variouscomponents, one to another. A system bus can include any one orcombination of different bus structures, such as a memory bus or memorycontroller, a peripheral bus, a universal serial bus, and/or a processoror local bus that utilizes any of a variety of bus architectures. Avariety of other examples are also contemplated, such as control anddata lines.

The processing system 704 is representative of functionality to performone or more operations using hardware. Accordingly, the processingsystem 704 is illustrated as including hardware element 710 that may beconfigured as processors, functional blocks, and so forth. This mayinclude implementation in hardware as an application specific integratedcircuit or other logic device formed using one or more semiconductors.The hardware elements 710 are not limited by the materials from whichthey are formed or the processing mechanisms employed therein. Forexample, processors may be comprised of semiconductor(s) and/ortransistors (e.g., electronic integrated circuits (ICs)). In such acontext, processor-executable instructions may beelectronically-executable instructions.

The computer-readable storage media 706 is illustrated as includingmemory/storage 712. The memory/storage 712 represents memory/storagecapacity associated with one or more computer-readable media. Thememory/storage component 712 may include volatile media (such as randomaccess memory (RAM)) and/or nonvolatile media (such as read only memory(ROM), Flash memory, optical disks, magnetic disks, and so forth). Thememory/storage component 712 may include fixed media (e.g., RAM, ROM, afixed hard drive, and so on) as well as removable media (e.g., Flashmemory, a removable hard drive, an optical disc, and so forth). Thecomputer-readable media 706 may be configured in a variety of other waysas further described below.

Input/output interface(s) 708 are representative of functionality toallow a user to enter commands and information to computing device 702,and also allow information to be presented to the user and/or othercomponents or devices using various input/output devices. Examples ofinput devices include a keyboard, a cursor control device (e.g., amouse), a microphone, a scanner, touch functionality (e.g., capacitiveor other sensors that are configured to detect physical touch), a camera(e.g., which may employ visible or non-visible wavelengths such asinfrared frequencies to recognize movement as gestures that do notinvolve touch), and so forth. Examples of output devices include adisplay device (e.g., a monitor or projector), speakers, a printer, anetwork card, tactile-response device, and so forth. Thus, the computingdevice 702 may be configured in a variety of ways as further describedbelow to support user interaction.

Various techniques may be described herein in the general context ofsoftware, hardware elements, or program modules. Generally, such modulesinclude routines, programs, objects, elements, components, datastructures, and so forth that perform particular tasks or implementparticular abstract data types. The terms “module,” “functionality,” and“component” as used herein generally represent software, firmware,hardware, or a combination thereof. The features of the techniquesdescribed herein are platform-independent, meaning that the techniquesmay be implemented on a variety of commercial computing platforms havinga variety of processors.

An implementation of the described modules and techniques may be storedon or transmitted across some form of computer-readable media. Thecomputer-readable media may include a variety of media that may beaccessed by the computing device 702. By way of example, and notlimitation, computer-readable media may include “computer-readablestorage media” and “computer-readable signal media.”

“Computer-readable storage media” may refer to media and/or devices thatenable persistent and/or non-transitory storage of information incontrast to mere signal transmission, carrier waves, or signals per se.Thus, computer-readable storage media refers to non-signal bearingmedia. The computer-readable storage media includes hardware such asvolatile and non-volatile, removable and non-removable media and/orstorage devices implemented in a method or technology suitable forstorage of information such as computer readable instructions, datastructures, program modules, logic elements/circuits, or other data.Examples of computer-readable storage media may include, but are notlimited to, RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash memory or other memory technology,CD-ROM, digital versatile disks (DVD) or other optical storage, harddisks, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or othermagnetic storage devices, or other storage device, tangible media, orarticle of manufacture suitable to store the desired information andwhich may be accessed by a computer.

“Computer-readable signal media” may refer to a signal-bearing mediumthat is configured to transmit instructions to the hardware of thecomputing device 702, such as via a network. Signal media typically mayembody computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules,or other data in a modulated data signal, such as carrier waves, datasignals, or other transport mechanism. Signal media also include anyinformation delivery media. The term “modulated data signal” means asignal that has one or more of its characteristics set or changed insuch a manner as to encode information in the signal. By way of example,and not limitation, communication media include wired media such as awired network or direct-wired connection, and wireless media such asacoustic, RF, infrared, and other wireless media.

As previously described, hardware elements 710 and computer-readablemedia 706 are representative of modules, programmable device logicand/or fixed device logic implemented in a hardware form that may beemployed in some embodiments to implement at least some aspects of thetechniques described herein, such as to perform one or moreinstructions. Hardware may include components of an integrated circuitor on-chip system, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), afield-programmable gate array (FPGA), a complex programmable logicdevice (CPLD), and other implementations in silicon or other hardware.In this context, hardware may operate as a processing device thatperforms program tasks defined by instructions and/or logic embodied bythe hardware as well as a hardware utilized to store instructions forexecution, e.g., the computer-readable storage media describedpreviously.

Combinations of the foregoing may also be employed to implement varioustechniques described herein. Accordingly, software, hardware, orexecutable modules may be implemented as one or more instructions and/orlogic embodied on some form of computer-readable storage media and/or byone or more hardware elements 710. The computing device 702 may beconfigured to implement particular instructions and/or functionscorresponding to the software and/or hardware modules. Accordingly,implementation of a module that is executable by the computing device702 as software may be achieved at least partially in hardware, e.g.,through use of computer-readable storage media and/or hardware elements710 of the processing system 704. The instructions and/or functions maybe executable/operable by one or more articles of manufacture (forexample, one or more computing devices 702 and/or processing systems704) to implement techniques, modules, and examples described herein.

As further illustrated in FIG. 7, the example system 700 enablesubiquitous environments for a seamless user experience when runningapplications on a personal computer (PC), a television device, and/or amobile device. Services and applications run substantially similar inall three environments for a common user experience when transitioningfrom one device to the next while utilizing an application, playing avideo game, watching a video, and so on.

In the example system 700, multiple devices are interconnected through acentral computing device. The central computing device may be local tothe multiple devices or may be located remotely from the multipledevices. In one embodiment, the central computing device may be a cloudof one or more server computers that are connected to the multipledevices through a network, the Internet, or other data communicationlink.

In one embodiment, this interconnection architecture enablesfunctionality to be delivered across multiple devices to provide acommon and seamless experience to a user of the multiple devices. Eachof the multiple devices may have different physical requirements andcapabilities, and the central computing device uses a platform to enablethe delivery of an experience to the device that is both tailored to thedevice and yet common to all devices. In one embodiment, a class oftarget devices is created and experiences are tailored to the genericclass of devices. A class of devices may be defined by physicalfeatures, types of usage, or other common characteristics of thedevices.

In various implementations, the computing device 702 may assume avariety of different configurations, such as for computer 714, mobile716, and television 718 uses. Each of these configurations includesdevices that may have generally different constructs and capabilities,and thus the computing device 702 may be configured according to one ormore of the different device classes. For instance, the computing device702 may be implemented as the computer 714 class of a device thatincludes a personal computer, desktop computer, a multi-screen computer,laptop computer, netbook, and so on.

The computing device 702 may also be implemented as the mobile 716 classof device that includes mobile devices, such as a mobile phone, portablemusic player, portable gaming device, a tablet computer, a multi-screencomputer, and so on. The computing device 702 may also be implemented asthe television 718 class of device that includes devices having orconnected to generally larger screens in casual viewing environments.These devices include televisions, set-top boxes, gaming consoles, andso on.

The techniques described herein may be supported by these variousconfigurations of the computing device 702 and are not limited to thespecific examples of the techniques described herein. This functionalitymay also be implemented all or in part through use of a distributedsystem, such as over a “cloud” 720 via a platform 722 as describedbelow.

The cloud 720 includes and/or is representative of a platform 722 forresources 724. The platform 722 abstracts underlying functionality ofhardware (e.g., servers) and software resources of the cloud 720. Theresources 724 may include applications and/or data that can be utilizedwhile computer processing is executed on servers that are remote fromthe computing device 702. Resources 724 can also include servicesprovided over the Internet and/or through a subscriber network, such asa cellular or Wi-Fi network.

The platform 722 may abstract resources and functions to connect thecomputing device 702 with other computing devices. The platform 722 mayalso serve to abstract scaling of resources to provide a correspondinglevel of scale to encountered demand for the resources 724 that areimplemented via the platform 722. Accordingly, in an interconnecteddevice embodiment, implementation of functionality described herein maybe distributed throughout the system 700. For example, the functionalitymay be implemented in part on the computing device 702 as well as viathe platform 722 that abstracts the functionality of the cloud 720.

CONCLUSION

Although the invention has been described in language specific tostructural features and/or methodological acts, it is to be understoodthat the invention defined in the appended claims is not necessarilylimited to the specific features or acts described. Rather, the specificfeatures and acts are disclosed as example forms of implementing theclaimed invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: launching an applicationcomprising one or more modules for execution on a computing device;responsive to the launching, generating criteria automatically andwithout user intervention through execution of the applicationcomprising the one or more modules by the computing device; responsiveto the launching, curating images using the generated criteriaautomatically and without user intervention through execution of theapplication comprising the one or more modules, the curated imagesidentified from a plurality of different image sources that areassociated with a user; and responsive to the launching, causing thecurated images to be displayed by a display device of the computingdevice automatically and without user intervention through execution ofthe application comprising the one or more modules, including displayinga description of at least one of the generated criteria used to identifyat least one of the curated images being displayed by the displaydevice.
 2. A method as described in claim 1, wherein the applicationcomprising the one or more modules are incorporated as part of anoperating system and the launching is performed responsive to selectionof an option by the user to output the curated images.
 3. A method asdescribed in claim 1, wherein the criteria specify an analysis of one ormore pixels of corresponding said images that is to be performed.
 4. Amethod as described in claim 1, wherein the criteria correspond tometadata associated with the images.
 5. A method as described in claim1, wherein the curating is performed through execution of theapplication comprising the one or more modules for at least one saidimage that is accessible remotely via a network to identify the at leastone said image without downloading the at least one said image.
 6. Amethod as described in claim 5, wherein the at least one said image isdownloaded responsive to identification of the image using one or moresaid criteria.
 7. A method as described in claim 1, wherein the curatingof the images includes: identifying the images automatically and withoutuser intervention from the plurality of different image sources usingthe generated criteria; selecting a subset of the identified images tobe displayed automatically and without user intervention; matching oneor more of the selected subset of images to positions in an image layoutautomatically and without user intervention; and replacing display of atleast one of the selected subset of images in the image layoutautomatically and without user intervention.
 8. A method as described inclaim 7, further comprising generating additional criteria after passageof a predefined amount of time and curating additional images responsiveto the generating of the additional criteria.
 9. A method as describedin claim 8, wherein the generation of the additional criteria is basedat least in part on the criteria that was previously generated.
 10. Amethod as described in claim 7, wherein the replacing is performed for afirst said image in the layout and is not performed for a second saidimage in the layout at a same point in time, the first and second saidimages being displayed concurrently at a previous point in time.
 11. Amethod as described in claim 1, wherein at least one of the imagesources is accessible remotely via the network using credentials of theuser that are stored on the computing device.
 12. A method as describedin claim 11, wherein the credentials are accessible upon login of theuser to the computing device.
 13. A method as described in claim 1,wherein the images include still images or video images.
 14. One or morecomputer-readable storage memories comprising an application comprisinginstructions stored thereon that, responsive to execution by a computingdevice, causes the computing device to perform operations automaticallyand without user intervention, the operations comprising: generatingcriteria responsive to initiating, without user intervention, executionof the application comprising the instructions; responsive to thegenerating and without user intervention, identifying images that areassociated with a user from a plurality of different image sources usingthe generated criteria; responsive to the identifying and without userintervention, selecting a subset of the identified images for display;responsive to the selecting and without user intervention, matching oneor more of the selected subset of images to positions in an imagelayout; and responsive to the matching and without user intervention,replacing display of at least one of the selected subset of images inthe image layout with another one of the selected subset of images, theimage layout including a description of at least one of the generatedcriteria used to identify at least one image being displayed in theimage layout.
 15. One or more computer-readable storage memories asdescribed in claim 14, wherein at least one of the criteria are based onpeople, time, or location.
 16. One or more computer-readable storagememories as described in claim 14, wherein at least one of the criteriaare people based on pixels included in the images.
 17. One or morecomputer-readable storage memories as described in claim 14, wherein theapplication comprising the instructions are incorporated as part of anoperating system.
 18. A system comprising an application comprising oneor more modules implemented at least partially in hardware, theapplication comprising the one or more modules configured to performoperations comprising: responsive to the application comprising the oneor more modules being launched, curating images using criteria that aregenerated automatically and without user intervention, the curatedimages identified from a plurality of different image sources that areassociated with a user; and responsive to the application comprising theone or more modules being launched, causing the curated images to bedisplayed by a display device automatically and without userintervention, the curated images displayed according to a layout suchthat at least one said image from a first said image source is displayedconcurrently with a second said image from a second said image source,the layout including a description of at least one of the generatedcriteria used to identify at least one of the curated images beingdisplayed according to the layout.
 19. A system as described in claim18, wherein the layout does not include preconfigured borders that arevisible to a user when viewing the layout.
 20. A system as described inclaim 19, wherein the layout does not include preconfigured borders thatare visible to the user through arrangement of pixels of the first saidimage as adjacent to pixels of the second said image such that pixelsfrom a source that is other than the first said image or the second saidimage are not displayed between the pixels of the first and second saidimages.